I facetimed Harry the following morning when I woke up, to find him drunk and giggly on the deck of a luxury yacht in the Caribbean, beaming happily from in between Anne and Robin. 

"You're having a good time, then?" I yawned, propping my phone up on the bathroom counter while I squeezed toothpaste onto my toothbrush.

"Yeah, it's soooo relaxing," he drawled. "I miss you like crazy though."

"Barf."

"You shh," Harry frowned, looking away from the screen at someone I couldn't see. 

"Dude, it's all we hear. We get it, you love her. Give us a break already."

"Baby they're all picking on me," he huffed, looking into the camera and pouting. "Kendall keeps moaning."

"Aww, Squidge," I said softly, glowing inside. "I think it's sweet that you're missing me."

"Aren't you missing me?"  

"Are you joking?" I demanded. "You're all I can think about. I even dreamt about you last night."

"Really?" His voice adopted a husky tone. "What kind of dream?"

"Ew! Harry! Get a room if you're gonna talk dirty."

"I'm not talking dirty! Jeez, will you back off?" Harry snapped, presumably to Kendall. There was a scuffle and then the screen wobbled as Harry stood up and muttered, "Night Mum."

"Night, sweetheart," Anne's voice replied, and the phone shook sickeningly while Harry strode along a wooden deck before the sound of a door closing could be heard, and his face reappeared on the screen. "Sorry about that," he mumbled.

"It's OK... is everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, Kendall's just being a massive pain in the arse," he huffed. "She's down in the dumps because her boyfriend isn't talking to her. She was facetiming him earlier today and I was in the background, taking the piss out of her, you know like we do - purely platonic. But they had a blazing row because he thought we were flirting and she ended up in tears after he hung up on her."

"Oh, that's not good," I frowned.

"Yeah, well, since then she's been snappy and irritable and she's pissing everyone off," he muttered.

"Go easy on her, she's probably feeling like you're rubbing her nose in it," I reasoned.

"In what?" he demanded.

"Well, in our happiness," I explained. "If her relationship is rocky, how do you think she feels hearing us all loved up? Cut her some slack."

He lay down on the bed and propped his phone against the pillow and sighed. "Why are you so amazing?"

"I was born this way," I teased, flipping my hair and grinning at the screen.

"Seriously. You're amazing. I love you so much."

"You're drunk," I smiled. "But thanks, I love you too."

"They say your true feelings show when you're drunk," he reminded me, and I beamed at him shyly. 

"You should go back and join the others," I said. "I have to get in the shower. We're heading out in half an hour and I haven't had breakfast yet."

"Nah, I'm gonna call it a night," he said, yawning. "I've had enough for one day. Irving arrives tomorrow so I need to be well rested."

"OK. Good luck, and let me know how it goes," I said softly. "I'll be thinking about you all day. I love you."

"Love you too, baby," he mumbled.

When I walked out into the chalet kitchen in my salopettes, everyone was already at the table eating breakfast. 

"Hurry up, slow coach," Callie teased. "We're almost ready to leave. There's a cup of tea there for you."

"Thanks," I said, taking a seat and grabbing the last croissant off the plate.

There was a loud knock on our chalet door, and Callie opened it to see Adam and two of his friends on the step.

"You guys ready?" they asked. "We're all heading up to the ski lift now."

Everyone jumped up and began pulling on their jackets and hats, and I hurriedly downed my lukewarm tea and shoved the last half of my croissant in my mouth.

"I'm sure we'll be stopping for a hot chocolate in about an hour," Callie said knowingly, grinning at me, and I grinned back as I grabbed my gloves, pulled my hat on over my hair and followed everyone out the door. 

It was a cold, clear morning, and the temperature on the digital thermometer by the boot room read minus two degrees Celsius. We strapped our boots on and walked fifty metres up the road in a long line, carrying our skis and poles. We reached the main lift, which was a cable car that would carry us up the mountainside to the main slopes, and ascended the metal steps to wait in the queue for our gondola. The skis were heavy and awkward, and just as I reached the top step I felt one of them sliding out my grip. I wobbled, trying to grab it, and a hand shot out from behind me and caught the rogue ski just before it smacked Callie in the face.

"Sorry!" I squealed apologetically, and turned to thank my rescuer. Adam's face beamed at me from underneath a dark blue bobble hat.

"Close one," he grinned. "You almost took Callie out completely."

"Good job you were on hand to save the day," I grinned back. "How are you?"

"Fine, you?"

"Really good," I nodded enthusiastically.

"Have you changed your number?" he asked, as the line moved along a couple of feet onto the waiting platform.

"No, why?" I frowned.

"Oh I texted you last week just saying hi and stuff, but I didn't get a reply."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," I apologised hastily. "I did get it, I just..."

Ended up arguing with Harry over it, I finished silently.

"Got waylaid," I fibbed. 

"Not to worry," he smiled. "I just didn't want things to be weird with us, that's all. And I can't deny I was looking forward to seeing you." He paused, and gave me a soft smile. "You look great, Jess."

"Thanks," I replied sincerely. "You look good too. What have you been up to?"

"Not much, really," he shrugged. "I got promoted at work a couple of months ago, so I've been pretty busy learning my new role. I spent Christmas in Oxford with my family, so that was nice to have a bit of a break."

"Congratulations on the new job," I said. "That's great news!"

"Thanks. So what about you? You're back in London now?"

"Yeah, Cardiff was a bit far from home," I said, inwardly cringing at the memory of throwing myself unashamedly at Adam in my hotel room, after too many cocktails and tequila shots. "It wasn't where I really wanted to be."

The next gondola swung round and began moving slowly along the platform, and the operators herded us all like sheep through the doors. They slid shut before it began to ascend above snow covered trees and wooden log cabins that looked like they belonged on the front of a Christmas card. 

"Cable car selfie!" Callie called, pulling her phone out of her pocket and holding it out in front of her. "Come on, everyone lean in!"

It was tricky trying to get everyone in the picture, but eventually she managed it, and busied herself posting the picture to Facebook and tagging everyone. I stared out the window of the gondola, watching the first skiers of the day making their way down the untouched slopes, traversing from side to side. My stomach flipped excitedly as I watched them, and I felt a flutter of nervous anticipation as the doors opened and we stepped out onto the platform at the top of the mountain and made our way out onto the snow. 

It was early morning, so the ski schools were just opening. Students were lining up in front of their instructors, wearing fluorescent vests with numbers and logos on them, while more experienced skiers already had their skis on and were making their way slowly to the start of the slopes.

"What shall we do first?" I asked Callie. "It's been a couple of years since I last skied. I'd like to tackle a couple of gentle runs before we go haring down a red and break our necks."

"Jess, where's your sense of adventure?" she teased. "Live dangerously!"

I rolled my eyes at her and threw my skis on the floor, digging the compacted snow off the bottom of my boots with my ski pole so I could clip them into the skis. I slipped my sunglasses on, and gazed in the direction of a blue slope to my left.

"I say we do this one," I said, pointing towards it with my pole. "Come on. Last one down buys the hot chocolate."

"Sounds like a challenge, Bradshaw," Callie smirked, pushing off with her poles to lead the way. I turned my skis in the right direction and pushed off after her, grinning as the acceleration took my breath away.

"Come on, slow coaches!" I called over my shoulder, and saw Adam grin and begin to come after me, which gave me a shot of adrenaline and a jolt of fierce competition. I dug my poles into the snow impatiently, trying to catch Callie, who had already made her first turn on the slope just as I reached the top.

As tempted as I was to schuss straight to the bottom and win the race, common sense took over, and I took the first slope as gently as I could, practising my turns and getting used to the feel of the skis on the snow beneath me, even though it meant letting Callie and Adam win. I reached the bottom about ten seconds after them both, and they made a great show of yawning and looking at their watches as I glided slowly to stop beside them next to a drag lift.

"Alright alright," I acknowledged. "You win. Hot chocs are on me. Come on."

"Are you going to be a snail all day, Jess?" Callie asked over her shoulder, once we were on our way up again.

"I'm not rising to this," I called back. "I'm not breaking several bones just because you're fearless."

"It's just that we were sort of aiming to complete more than two runs before lunchtime," Adam's voice called from behind me.

I turned round in mock outrage and wobbled dangerously, leaning too far over to my right in an attempt to steady myself and only just managing to recover and get back on track again.

"Smooth," he teased.

"You're a pair of bastards," I told them, and I could hear their joint laughter at my expense: Callie from in front of me and Adam from behind.

We gathered in a group at the top of the same blue run again, and after much discussion we split into three smaller groups and arranged to meet back at the main restaurant by the cable car at half past twelve. I headed off with Callie, Adam, Callie's sister Rebecca and two of Adam's friends called Jonathan and Alex. 

Rebecca was eager to take things cautiously too, so she and I managed to convince the others to tackle a couple of easier runs, before attempting a red slope just before lunch. I was pleasantly surprised that I found my feet quicker than I had expected, and lulled Callie into false sense security all the way down, before tucking myself in, zooming past her and coming to a stop with a flourish by the ski lockers next to the mountainside restaurant.

"Cheat!" she called as she arrived beside me and pulled her hat off, grinning. "Have you kept that in the bag all morning?"

"I was suddenly feeling more confident," I breezed, unclipping my skis and standing them up next to Callie's.

"You pulled some great moves there, Jess," Adam said as he arrived with the others. "I'm impressed."

"I like to keep you on your toes," I teased, throwing them a cocky look as I strutted exaggeratedly into the restaurant and bumped my shoulder on the door frame.

"Still smooth," Adam sniggered, as Callie cracked up laughing and threw her arm around my shoulders.

We ordered our lunch and sat down to wait for the others, and it wasn't long before they appeared, red-faced and windswept, and sat down at our table.

"You feeling ready for some more red slopes?" Callie asked, as we tucked into a plate of chips between us.

"Yeah, definitely," I nodded. "If only so I can wipe that smug look off your face."

"Ha! I'd like to see you try," she laughed, and I grinned and ruffled her hair.

We stayed in the same groups for the afternoon, laughing hysterically at each other's tumbles, challenging each other to races and pausing for a hot chocolate in a small cafe overlooking a black run where we watched the expert skiers navigate patches of ice and moguls. It was quarter to five when we called it a day and headed back down the mountain in the cable car, exhausted but happy, and looking forward to a meal out. 

As soon as we arrived back at the chalet I tried to call Harry, but he didn't answer so I went for a shower and by the time I got out I had a missed call from him. I facetimed him, and he answered immediately.

"Hey baby," he beamed, his face filling the screen. "How's your day been?"

"Really good," I beamed back, noting his hair was pulled back in a mun, and trying not to drool. "It's been great fun. I'm tired now, though. How was your meeting?"

"Really great," he said, leaning back in his chair and stretching one arm behind his head. "Jeff and Irving both want to manage me when I'm out of contract with Modest. Jeff's branching out on his own, and he wants me as his first client, so he can devote all his time to me. But Irving's arguing that he's the more experienced of the two of them, therefore better equipped to negotiate the best opportunities."

"What do you think?" I asked.

"I'm leaning more towards Jeff," he said, thoughtfully. "I think he's got the younger edge to him, and he's by no means inexperienced in this industry. He was brought up in it. And he knows me better than anyone; I know he'll do right by me. Plus, Irving has already said he's going to support Jeff and be on hand for advice, should he need it. I can't help thinking I'd have the best of both worlds."

"That sounds great to me," I said. "Why don't you sleep on it? Don't make any rash decisions. This is huge for you. Although I can't help thinking that either way you decide to go wouldn't be wrong. You've got two amazing offers there. Neither would be a mistake."

"I think so too," he smiled. "I wish you were here. I wish you could have been in the meeting with me. They were saying such great stuff about me, about how I'm going to be a massive success and how the whole world is waiting to see what I'm going to do over the next couple of years. I wanted to pinch myself, to make sure I wasn't dreaming."

"I'm so proud of you, Harry," I said softly. "You have the whole world at your feet. You deserve all this success, and more."

"You sound like my mum," he said, looking away shyly.

"We both love you endlessly," I said, seriously. 

"I know," he smiled. "I'm so lucky."

"Luck's got nothing to do with it," I said, shaking my head. "Your talent and hard work have got you where you are today."

"I meant having such amazing women in my life," he said, looking down at his lap again as I blushed and my stomach flipped. "I appreciate you so much. I hope you know that."

"Of course I do," I whispered.

"Oh, and the paps have been sniffing around today," he sighed. "I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you. They were on their speedboats earlier with their long range cameras. Kendall and I were taking the piss out of them, pointing our own cameras back at them, and then taking photos of each other and generally pratting around. No doubt it will be front page news tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the warning. I'm glad you're not hiding away. You deserve a peaceful holiday, so enjoy it and don't worry about what the paps are doing."

"Thanks, baby. I will," he smiled. 

"How has Kendall been today?" I asked.

"Better. She spoke to Jordan after I walked off in a huff last night. I think they've sorted things out. She told him if you're OK with me being here with her, then he should be OK with her being here with me. If that makes sense."

"Yeah it does," I nodded.

"Do you think Kris was behind the arrival of the paps?" I wondered.

"I'm certain of it. She'll be on tenterhooks in the morning, waiting for her pictures to surface."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Why would anyone want that kind of intrusion? I don't get it."

"Neither do I," he agreed. "But that's just her way of life. Mum and Robin try and keep out of the spotlight as you know, so they're not particularly happy about it, but what can you do?"

We chatted for another five minutes before I got called as everyone was deciding where to go for dinner, so Harry and I said our goodbyes and hung up. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a thick jumper, weaved my hair into a loose side plait, and went into the kitchen. The entire group was sitting around the table discussing the selection of restaurants and bars, and Callie handed me a glass of red wine as I opened up Twitter to see if any pictures of Harry had made their way onto social media.

Of course they had. Every One Direction update account was going crazy, swinging between excitement and hysteria at "Hendall 2.0" as they were now calling it, and there was a collection of pictures of Harry and Kendall, looking relaxed and happy on the deck of a boat. There was one picture of them facing each other, holding hands and seemingly rocking back and forth, and then one where only Kendall's legs could be seen in the air. The world had taken this as proof that they were an item, and although I had avoided my mentions for months, I couldn't resist taking a quick look, and saw that the general consensus was that Harry and I, if we had ever existed at all, were well and truly over.

It was hard to read these theories about us, and I gave up after a few tweets, because what was the point in upsetting myself over rumours I knew not to be true? I could see why everyone had jumped to such rash conclusions, but I still couldn't help feeling annoyed that the whole world just assumed Harry and Kendall were in a relationship, just because they were hanging out on a boat. It wasn't like they had been pictured in a passionate clinch. There were only a handful of photos, although I was sure that now the paps knew the location of the yacht, it would only be a matter of time before more came to light. I sighed and closed Twitter, resolving not to look again.

~~~

We spent the evening in a fabulous Italian restaurant, and came back to the chalet just before midnight. A few of the lads stayed out drinking, but the rest of us wanted to be up and out the following morning on the ski runs, so I called Harry as I was climbing into bed, to say goodnight. 

He sounded stressed, as Kendall had apparently gone off in tears again after another row with her boyfriend over the yacht pictures, and Kris was currently with her calming her down. 

"What am I supposed to do - stay away from her for the whole week?" Harry asked me, frustratedly. "She's my friend."

"I don't know," I said unhappily. "I wish I knew what to say. I'm sure they'll work things out."

"I hope so," he sighed. "I feel bad that I'm the cause of all these problems between them."

"I don't think you're the problem," I said gently. "It sounds like he has a trust issue. I doubt it's personal." 

"I'm sorry for what everyone is saying," he said miserably. "I knew as soon as we got pictured together that it would set the rumour mill off again. It must be hard for you, seeing articles about me with someone else."

"It's actually not that bad," I admitted. "I'm not really looking at Twitter, and I know the truth, so it's all good. It's made me see just how the world can jump to conclusions from a handful of harmless pictures, though. It's even scarier than I remember."

"If you were here now, our relationship would be public knowledge," he reminded me, and then added, "I wish you were